Architecture-Centric Evaluation of Blockchain-Based Smart Contract e-voting for National Elections

Figure 2. A high-level view of the e-voting process using the BANES. 
4. ATAM Evaluation 
The report of the Architecture Trade-off Analysis Method (ATAM) evaluation of the BANES is 
present in adjoining subsections. ATAM was selected for the evaluation of the proposed blockchain 
architecture because it is arguably the best scenario-based architecture method. A comparative 
analysis of scenario-based architecture evaluation methods which included the Scenario-Based 
Architecture Analysis (SAAM), the Architecture Trade-off Analysis Method (ATAM), the 
Performance Assessment of Software Architecture (PASA), and the Architecture Level Modifiability 
Analysis (ALMA) as reported in [40] revealed that ATAM is the only scenario-based architecture 
evaluation method that provides comprehensive process support for the architecture evaluation 
process. This is the main motivation for using ATAM. 
4.1. Assessing Blockchain E-voting Architecture Using the Trade-Off Analysis Method (ATAM) 
ATAM is used to evaluate software architectures by using scenarios. The objective of ATAM is 
to assess the degree to which a system is likely to be able to satisfy its expected quality attributes by 
analysing it from an architectural perspective. ATAM allows the risks, sensitivity points, and trade-
off points of a system to be identified [4,5]. In ATAM, risks are a potentially problematic architectural 
decision, a sensitivity point is a property of one or more components that is necessary to attain a 
specific quality attribute response, while a trade-off point is a property that affects more than one 
attribute and is a sensitivity point for more than one attribute. ATAM results are particularly useful 
for cost and benefit analysis, improvement of system design, and guidance in system 
implementation, and software project management. The ATAM evaluation for the proposed BANES